Heilman type comber



Au 15, 1933. F. 1.. CROCKETT HEILMAN TYPE COMBER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 6, 1930 M4 INVENTOR.

Aug. 15, 1933. F. L. CROCKETT 1,922,030

HEILMAN TYPE COMBER Filed June 6, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 vmlGmfiur IN VEN TOR.

ATTO EYS.

15, 1933- I F. L. CROCKETT 1,922,030

HEILMAN TYPE COMBER Filed June 6, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Aug. 15, 1933 barren stars-s EilEllLMAN 'rrre COMBER k Qroclzett, East Douglas, Mass, as- .cr to Whitin Machine Works, WVhitins- The invention aims to improve the efiiciency of Hellman-type combers and consists in a new organization of detaching and piecing mechanism for such machines, according to certain principles herein disclosed. and which are capable ofapplication to su h in whole or in part and in different ways, and. ich are exemplified in the accompanying drawings as appliedto a cotton comber or" the general design of I my prior Patent No. 1,671,161 but without limitation to that type of somber. ;In the drawings, Fig. 1 shows the principal members of a combing head which directly enter into the present invention, inside elevationand with certain parts broken away for clearness.

2.;isa front elevation of thepiecing and data ng'niecha of Fig.

3 is a diagrammatic section of the piecing ac ion thereof.

g 4 is a vertical transverse section illustratthe relation-of the detaching roll to the top construction as shown in Fig. l. ,Zl'igs. 5 and 6 represent a modified form ofthe means for holding the top piecing roll, Fig. is a top plan, broken away and Fig. 6, a section ofil 'ig o on line Vi-VI, and

r Fig. 7 isa diagram of the pi cing action of the rolls as'thus .lhe numer comber upc."

the respective :niechan the several combing heads are 'mounted; itwill be understood that the machine may coin rise a series of such uprightsinounted upon-and along a coinrnonbase supporuaccordingtothe'number or" combing heads in the machineland that the power for driving such heads is ordinarily applied from a drive-head at one end and transmitted to the several combing heads by means of a number of longitudinal shafts extending through theniend journalled on the frame uprights, this beingv the customary Organization of ,COll'lbEIS and not shown by the drawings. All of the combing heads may be alike in construction, so that thedescription of one will sumce for the whole cornber. For clearness ofillustrationthe drawings also omit the weighting stirrups and various other common and necessary appurtenances in cotton conibers which howover will'be readily supplied by the manufacturer.

Inithe type-of machine taken: to exemplifythe principles of the invention, the nipper frame2 swingsback andiorth, being suspended frornthe upstanding. parts of the adjacent'frame uprights lzbymeans ofa pair of forward suspension links 3 .and arpair of rearlinks The upper pivot of the .front link 3 .is marked ,6 and the lower pivot ,7 (Fig. 4) andthe length ofithe link, is a. justable by use of thenuts as'indicated, The swinging movement of the nipper frame is imparted to it by a rear link connection 8.with th e crank-arm of the nipper rock shaft 8 which is one-of the longitudinal shafts above referred to,

receiving itsmotion fromthe driveeheadat the end of the comber. The nipper frame carries the 5 usual nipper jaws 9,-cushion .plate vandQnipper knife, the. latter being carried on the nipper. levers 9 fulcrurned on the nlpper'frameandoperated by engagement with'parts inirear-whicharenot illustrated. It also carriesthe lapeconducting and-lap-feed mechanism, which is indicated, f or convenience, simply by a circle marked 10. .In

the rearmost position the nippers present the endof the lapito theaction' of therotarycomb cylinder 5, and in theirforward position theyde- -7 liver it tothedetachingrolls and sofarias the present invention is concerned it is immaterial how they are designed or operated so longas they appropriatelyperform these functions. i

Thetopcornb also may be variouslydes'igned and operated; as here shown the combblade ,1-1

,is mounted on a'crossbar ,12, seeiFig. 4,,.,which is connected byits terminalfianges-l-3 toithe.top comb brackets 1s, the connection'being adjustable'asto comb blade angularity by ineansof thebolt and slot-attachment as;indicated. The comb brackets 14 are formed with long slots :bywhich they are hung on the studs 15, borne onthe rearward head structures 3 -of the front suspension links 3 and insuchrelation-to,the latter that asthe nipper frame swings forward, the studs move downwards and thereby .lower the top comb intothe tuft;as the latterds-being drawn off by the detaching rolls. 'fhelowerends of the top comb brackets 14 are'guided, inthe present case, by fitting over the gudgeon-isleeves -Ser. No. -3'72',614;filed June 21, 1929.

According to i this invention the: detaching; and

piecing :functions of the 'cornber re substantially separate, being performed by distinct though related members, that is to say, the drawing oif and separation of the tuft from the body of the lap held in the upper frame, and its passage through the top comb teeth, is done by a pair of detaching rolls (16 and 17) and the overlapping of the tufts is done by a pair of piecing rolls (19 and 33) each of which pairs receives a motion appropriate to its particular function. It is sufficient for the detaching rolls, 16 and 17, to rotate continuously in a forward direction, though this is not necessary, and with a constantly uniform speed which is given to the lower roll in the present case by a train of gearing being marked 44, 45, i6 and 47 respectively in Fig. 2 direct from the shaft 32 of the comb cylinder. The lower roll 16 may be formed on a continuous shaft, extending through all the combing heads and journalled at 18 on the several frame uprights and the gear-train referred to may be located at either end of that shaft, but preferably at the end of the machine opposite from the drive-head as indicated by Fig. 2. This gear train is omitted from Fig. 1 for clearness, as are also the bearings of the roll shaft 16.

The top detaching roll 17 is driven by its contact with the lower roll 16, being supported thereon by means of the slotted roll holders 17 fixed to the journal caps 18 by means of the cap bolts of the latter, or otherwise as preferred. The function of these roll holders is to maintain the top detaching roll 1''! in proper relation to the lower detaching roll which is preferably a fixed relation, though adjustable, and in such way that the requisite nipping pressure can be imparted to it by means of usual stirrups or other weighting or pressure devices, not shown in the drawings. 'When properly arranged the detaching rolls are located to seize the head ends of the cylinder-combed tuft which is presented to them by the then opened nippers.

These rolls pass the tuft, which they draw off from the body of the lap, to the two rolling members or rolls 19 and 33 which constitute the piecing mechanism and one or both of which rolls is moved bodily away from and toward the detaching rolls, once for each nip of the machine and in such way as to perform the piecing by overlapping the head end of the tuft emerging on the front side of the detaching rolls on the tail end of the last preceding tuft held by the piecing rolls. See Fig. 3. The piecing is thus done in the space between the detaching rolls and the piecing rolls and not between the detaching rolls and comb-cylinder as heretofore commonly the case. The lower piecing roll, marked 19, is journalledin a movable carriage or support which may be mounted and guided in any suitable way and is represented in the present case by a pair of rocker arms 20, made fast on a shaft 21 which is journalled in the frame uprights and which may be a shaft extending through all the combing heads if desired. It is rocked through an appropriate angle by means of a cam arm 22 fixed at some convenient point thereon and engaged and operated, through its bowl 23, by a disc cam 24, which latter rotates in phase with and may be carried on the comb cylinder shaft 32, a spring being provided to keep the cam bowl 23 in constant contact with its cam as customary with cam motions. The piecing cam 24 is shaped to give one complete excursion to the piecing mechanism for each rotation of the comb cylinder or nip of the comber, and

while other mechanical means might be employed in its place, a simple disc cam constitutes a practical means of producing the desired action.

In addition to its forward and back movement, the lower piecing roll 19 receives also, a rotary motion on its own axis, for which purpose it is provided at its ends or preferably only at one end with a small spur pinion 25, which meshes with and rolls, as a planet gear upon a larger or sun gear'26, the latter being journalled on or concentric with the rock shaft 21. Continuous motion in the direction of the arrow is imparted to the sun gear 26 through a train of gears, marked consecutively 2'7, 28, 29, 30 and 31, from the comb cylinder shaft 32. The relative arrangement of these gears is indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 and the specific arrangement shown is not essential as the gear 25 can obviously be driven in other ways with equal effect; it is preferred that the sun gear shall be individual to each combing head being therein driven each by its pinion 27 which may be on a common shaft 2'1 extending through all the combing heads while the rest of the driving train is located in the drive head at the left end of the machine as indicated in Fig. 2.

The upper piecing roll 33 is held upon the lower piecing roll 19 and driven thereby being under the pressure of suitable stirrups omitted from the drawings for convenience of illustration. As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the gudgeons or gudgeon sleeves of this top roll are confined in forked slots in an articulated guiding linkage, comprising the connected links 34 and 35, jointed at 36 to brackets 3'7 fixed to the sides of the frame uprights 1. The lower forked ends of the links 34 straddle the gudgeons of the top roll 33 and extend downwardly far enough to embrace the shaft or axle, or gudgeon sleeves, of the lower piecing roll 19, so that as the latter oscillates back and forth under the action of the piecing cam 24, the top roll 33 is held by the fork slots above, but rolling back and forth upon, and

relatively to, the lower roll. The links 34 may rest on the top roll and are readily lifted therefrom when the top roll is to be removed. The dotted lines illustrate the forward position of the lower roll and corresponding position of the top roll.

With the sun gear driven in the direction of the arrow, it will be seen that the two piecing rolls will be rotated in a forward direction on their own axes as they are bodily carried forward or away from the detaching rolls by the movement of the carriage 20, and that they may rotate more slowly or cease their rotation, or may rotate reversely, when making their return stroke, according as whether the rise of piecing cam 24 causes such return stroke to occur more slowly than, equal to, or faster than, the circumferential speed of the sun gear, and within this invention this relation is subject to preference of design according to the type of comber and the nature of the fibres being combed as well as the characcter of piecing desired, being in this respect capable of modification. The tuft detached by the detaching roll is directed into the bite of the piecing rolls when the latter are in their rearmost position, closest to the detaching rolls, as indicated in the full-line diagram of Fig. 3 and preferably when the piecing rolls have just reached that position, at which they may be assumed to have an appropriate dwell, that is, at the end of the backward stroke, and they are thenrdrivenbydhe sun gear at:a surfaee speed about the: same. as :thatmf. the detaching rolls. or "so as properly to take;the:tuft from-them. :The control of the movement:atithispointisindicated :by-lthe :contour of i the 1 cam 24 and. enables .the :piecingmolls to'gain a securenip-on the advanc- .ing 'ituft; .Immediatelymhat itlhas beenseized, ithepiecingiroll carriagebegins tomake its for- ".ward stroke and at such velocity as .will cause .the :rolls ato 1 rotate :forwardly with. an increased speedsas soon asi-the. tuft: is clear of the. detaching :roll's, ieither. .uniformly or if desired with an. acsceleratingmotion, but :in any event, makinga quick and clean removal of the tuft fromthedeitachingzrolls: and passing-the greater part of its IengthLthrOugh'thebite of thepiecingrolls. The areturmstrokeof the piecing mechanismis, in:the apresentzinstancaand preferably; conducted at .such:a:rate as to produce reverserotation of the -.-rolls, the .effect .of which is..to back the tuft :throughithemto. an extent somewhat less;than ;thezfor.wardirotation',.andlby the time the rolls reach ztheirirearmosh position. a sufiicient length iofz the tail endsof thettuft will;be extendedrearwvarlis for :the nextoverlap. Suchtail end exztendsrdownwardin thespace between theback csideof thezpiecing rolls and thelfront side of the lower. detaching .roll .16, in readiness :to receive on;top-of.it.the.head end of the nextarriving tuft. .:.In this space or crevicebetween the-two iowersrolls; itimaybe observed thatthe tuft fibres :areifree fromany snatching effect by the comb -cylinder,5such asxis. likelyto occur in other types .of....cotton cornbers with consequent .increase of wastaand since;there istnodanger of any snatch- -fullest sextent .desired, thereby permitting a longer uoverlappthan could otherwise be safely attempted.

iTheirolling movement .ofthe top piecing roll,

with referenceto'the axiso'f the .lowerpiecing roll wilLbe seenztozhave .theeffectof bendingrthe ltail iendifif theituft 'aroundiupon the back side of;the'.lowerpiecingaro1l soithat it will be project- ;ing ..:downwardly during. the rearward stroke without; danger "of striking the detaching roll ."16 in such a way as to rumple it. Because of the proximity of-l'the -two;lower-r.olls it is 'assumed ithatithe adetaching .21011 1.6. may actually have .somexsmoothing;eifectruponithe tail end :of the The actiondescribedzwillbe apparent from the idiagramLinzwhich it' will::be seen that'JtheLtop .:roll istwell overonit'he :backsideof .thesb'ottom rolliwhen both rolls-areinltheir forward position, thus bending the tuft around the roll as stated.

The motion is capable of high speed operationand corresponding efficiency and high speed is also favored by the fact that only the piecing rolls themselves, which are members of relatively small mass, are called upon to reverse their rotation and do so with an easy motion, whereas in prior combers the reversal is commonly performed by relatively massive gearing, in the drive head, which cannot be reversed rapidly without hard shock and noise. The contour of the piecing cam can be made of easy curvature adapted to run smoothly and quietly.

A further feature of the invention comprises means of protecting the tuft from disturbing air currents during the backward swing of the piecing mechanism and is shown in Figs. 5 to 7 as a modified or alternate form of the structure above described. It consists in the use of an extra large sized top piecing roll 38, so mounted and held that it constantly spans and covers as a roof the a virtually. deadrspace so tfar: as: air :movement 1 is .1 concerned. As the means .for .thus .closing over ithe :piecingqspace the .use .of. a top piecing roll .ofsadequate sizeisz'preferred,.becausei of its. sim- .plicity:and.itsrolling actionandathe fact that :a r0111 of :such size can she self-weighting if de- .-sired. :It isheld atv afixed distance-fromathe top detaching roll 17 by means of links-atieaclnof tion, as above described and bends.-.down;the.tail

.The links, as. shown,

of about .01 inches, thus for practical purposes completely :rcofing over: the .space in .which .ithe :tu'fts. are ;'clrawn off, hacked and pieced; together.

- from-the foregoing descriptionit will-.rbeapparentthat within the principles disclosed aawide variety'of different-forms of structureiis easily iIJOSSlblGDf development, without employing :the specific imeans illustrated, :and particularly :that

therelative motions-and timingv of the, piecing and also the detaching rolls can-be easily adaptedmo produce many diiferent effects.- iing, itiisitherefore.possible toback the tuft'to the Having nowdescribed'theinvention I claim: -1. Ina comber, thecombination withmeans andforthbodily toward and from said detaching 2.:In:a comber, the combination of rolls for detachingatuft, the, lower of said rollsrevolving .on a fixedaxis, a piecing roll to receive the tuft,

and means for forwardly rotating; andforwardly moving the axis of, saidpiecing roll with refer- 281186 ,to said detaching rolls when receiving Y or .piecing the tuft.

3.;In acomber, thecombination oi continuously forwardly-rotating detaching rolls, piecing rolls,-and'a carriagefor the latter moving the space above the tuition all positions; of :the; parts, .thusimakingi the: space where:.the piecing; is done :its -'ends,.-such.= as showninstheifigures referred to :and. so ;that 1 its :path of -mov.ement .is in zaishort -.verticalsarc about theaxis of that. roll as.;a-center :as ithe 5 lower piecing roll moves back and forth beneath; it, but with. reference ;to the lower =.piec- :ingroll substantially the samerollingmo- .for detaching a tuft from the lap, of :piecing" mechanism receiving the tuft therefrom-{indepcrating means'forsaid mechanism;movingit'back axis of one of thepiecing-rolls toward and from I .the detaching rolls.

dently imparting to said piecing roll a forward rotation and a forward movement of its rotary" axis. a

6. In a comber, the combination of fixed detaching means, swinging nippers, a piecing roll and means for alternately forwardly and reversely rotating said roll and coincidently oscillating its rotary axis toward and from said detaching means.

7. In a comber, the combination of detaching rolls rotating on fixed axes, a lower piecing roll,

an upper piecing roll, means for holding the axis of the latter roll, and means for bodily shifting the lower piecing. roll under the upper roll, the overlap occurring on the latter roll.

8. In a comber, the combination of detaching mechanism, a bodily oscillated lower piecing roll receiving the tuft from said mechanism and an upper piecing roll supported on the lower roll and having adiameter adapted to close the space between the lower roll and the detaching mechanism.

9. In a comber, the combination of a lower detaching roll rotating on a fixed axis, a piecing roll rotating on an oscillating axis and receiving the tuft from said fixed-axis roll, and means for bridging over and substantially preventing air current through the space between said detaching and piecing rolls.

10. In a comber, the combination of a lower detaching roll rotating on a fixed axis, a pair of piecing rolls having intermittent forward rotation receiving the detached tuft from the detaching roll and adapted to perform the piecing in the space between said detaching and piecing rolls and air-current-preventing means overlying said space.

11. In a comber, the combinationof a pair of tuft-detaching rolls, means for driving the same at a forward speed, a pair of piecing rolls in front of said detaching rolls, means for driving them forwardly, and means for rolling the top piecing roll over on the rear side of the bottom piecing roll following the reception of each detached tuft, thereby bending the tail of thetuft over upon the rear face of said bottom roll.

12. In a comber, the combination of a lower detaching roll operating on a fixed axis, a pair of piecing rolls, receiving the detached tuft from the detaching roll, means for forwardly rotating, and forwardly moving the axis of, the lower piecing roll, and means supporting the upper piecing roll in fixed relation to the detaching roll.

13. In a comber, the'combination of a pair of fixed detaching rolls and a bodily oscillating piecing roll, and means for continuously rotating the former and intermittently forwardly rotating the latter.

14. In a comber, the combination of detaching mechanism, means for conducting the lap end thereto, a sun gear, and a planetary piecing roll receiving tufts detached by said mechanism, and oscillating in an are on its sun-gear towards and from said detaching mechanism.

15. In a multi-head comber, the combination of detaching mechanism and a pair of piecing rolls in each head and gear means in each head forlocally driving said rolls and a longitudinal shaft common to all of the heads for driving said gear means. i

16. The combination in each of the heads of a multi-head comber, of a comb cylinder shaft mechanism to detach a tuft from the lap and means to piece the tufts comprising a roll with a pinion fixed on one end thereof, a gear wheel engaged to said pinion in each combing head, and a shaft common to all of said heads and parallel to said comb cylinder shaft for driving said gear wheel and thereby locally driving said piecing rolls.

17. In a comber, the combination of a pair of piecing rolls one of them having a driving pinion associated therewith, a driving gear for said pinion, means for oscillating the axis of said pinion concentrically to said driving gear and means for operating 'said driving gear in the direction to move its top side forwardly, said oscillating and driving means, being corelated to produce alternating motion of said roll.

18. In a comber, the combination of a fixed detaching roll, upper and lower piecing rolls, a pinionon the end of the lower roll, means for driving said pinion comprising a sun-gear, a carriage for'said lower roll adapted to roll the pinion on said sun-gear and means for oscillating the carriage relative to said detaching roll. 19. In a comber, the combinaton of fixed detaching rolls, piecing rolls, including a lower roll, a rock shaft having a pair of arms supporting said roll, a gear concentric with said shaft connected for driving said roll, and means forindependently rocking said shaft and driving said gear at relative speeds suited to produce intermittent forward rotation of said piecing roll.

20. In a comber, the combination of two detaching rolls operating on fixed axes, a lower piecing roll operating on a movable axis, a top piecing roll resting on the lower roll, a pinion connected to said lower roll, a rocking carriage for said roll, a sun-gear concentric with the carriage and meshing with said pinion'and means for driving said sun-gear and rocking said 'carriage.

21. In a comber, the combination of detaching rolls operating on fixed axes, alower piecing roll operating on a' movable axis, a top piecing roll and an articulate link system supporting the same on the lower roll comprising a link embracing the gudgeons of the lower piecing roll.

FRANK L. CRQCKET'I. 

